Ian Machado Gary said his match with Colby Covington is officially off the table.
Gary (14-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) has been confirmed by the UFC to be able to fight until September as Covington (17-4 MMA, 12-4 UFC) is still healing from a broken leg. The UFC has announced that he will not be suffering from the condition. Covington has already pivoted to other opponents, but for now, Gary just wants to fight at UFC 303 on June 29, headlined by fellow Irishman Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler.
“For me it's (UFC) 303 or nothing,” Gary told talkSPORT MMA. “We have the potential to make a lot of history for Ireland here. Colby was the co-main, me and Conor were the co-mains and I was there screaming to be the main event. For Irish history. It was supposed to be a big thing, but Colby ran and got ejected. There are other guys who have been offered and they're also in the running. They're all coming up with excuses for this ranking. I'm tired of the jokes.
“Everyone above me is injured and I'm in a position where Leon (Edwards) and Belal (Muhammad) are facing each other. I have no interest in fighting anyone below me, but I have no choice but to wait. I'm in a position where I don't have any, and the last thing I want to do is wait. I want to be active. I can give anyone who stands up from me across the octagon on June 29th a spanking. Masu.”
Gary said he accepted all the names the UFC proposed, including Michael Page.
“All I can do is fight in the rankings, and here I have to show that I'm willing to fight anyone,” Garry said. “…I said yes to that name (Paige). He's feeling a little heavy, so he and his coach are making a decision. I said yes, even though it's a little heavy to gain weight after 7 weeks.
“I looked at eight or nine names and was like, 'No, I don't want that fight, I'm not interested.' They offered me Colby and I said yes to MVP. , I said yes to Sean Brady, I said yes to the Uzbek guy (Ruzhiboev) if he won, I said yes to Joaquin Buckley.
The story originally appeared on MMA Junkie